Ireneu Segarra i Malla

Father Ireneu Segarra i Malla

Father Ireneu Segarra i Malla OSB or his real name Jesús Segarra i Malla , (born September 30, 1917 in Ivars d'Urgell , † November 19, 2005 in Montserrat Monastery ) was a Catalan church musician, choirmaster and composer. From 1953 to 1997 he was head of Escolania de Montserrat for nearly 45 years .

life and work

Ireneu Segarra i Malla studied from 1927 to 1931 with Anselm Ferrer and Àngel Rodamilans at the Escola de Montserrat . In 1931 he joined the Benedictine order and took the name of the order Irineu . At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, he stayed in Barcelona for some time, but then traveled to Belgium via Marseille. He took refuge in Maredsous Abbey . There he studied theology and celebrated in 1939 his profession . In 1941 he was ordained a priest. After his return to Catalonia or Barcelona, he deepened his musical training with Josep Barberà , Cristòfor Taltabull in harmony and counterpoint and with Frank Marshall in the piano. Later he went to study composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.

In 1941 he became deputy director and in 1953 first director of Escolania de Montserrat . He conducted the Escolania until 1997. Ireneu Segarra was a member of the Universa Laus , an advisory body of the Spanish bishops with regard to sacred music. He promoted the renewal of liturgical music in the Catalan language, especially with regard to closeness to the people.

As director of the Escolania de Montserrat and the Capella de Música de Montserrat , Segarra was responsible for the recording of more than one hundred recordings. These included recordings of works by Joan Cererols , Narcís Casanoves and Josep Antoni Martí . With the latter recording, he won the Gran Premi del Disc Català (Great Record Prize of Catalonia) in the choral music category. For the recording of the Missa Salisburgensis (1974), among others in collaboration with the Tölzer Knabenchor , he received an award in Germany in 1975. For the six-part Missa pro defunctis by Tomás Luis de Victoria he received the 1978 German Record Prize in the Early Music category .

He has given concerts in Europe, Japan, Israel and Canada with the two ensembles of the Escolania de Montserrat and the Capella de Música de Montserrat .

As the originator of a special music teaching method, he has published works such as La voz del niño cantor (1963) and other music pedagogical works. In his music teaching method, Segarra mainly relied on educational experience from Hungary. He thus had a standardizing effect on teaching throughout Catalonia. The method was developed on the basis of the following statements: Music is an expression of human life and artistic communication. The voice is the primary musical instrument. Traditional songs are developed accordingly and the study of musical language is learned from them. The pentatonic system is the first level in the study of melodic relationships. Solfeo , solmisation and the practice of music dictation serve as learning and teaching tools. The melodic training is supplemented by a rhythmic training.

In the Mestres de l'Escolania de Montserrat series , Segarra published works on the composer Miguel López , thus continuing the series that had been inactive since 1936.

Segarra has written more than 200 vocal works such as psalm settings, masses and hymns. He has also composed several instrumental pieces.

In 1986 Segarra was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi .

Discography (excerpt)

Missa Romana, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi , Escolania de Montserrat, Tölzer Knabenchor , Collegium Aureum, Ireneu Segarra, Harmonia Mundi , 1972
Missa Salisburgensis a 53 Voci, (molt probablement d' Enric Biber ), Escolania de Montserrat, Tölzer Knabenchor , Collegium Aureum, Ireneu Segarra, Harmonia Mundi, 1974
Vespro della Beata Vergine , Claudio Monteverdi , Escolania de Montserrat, Pro Cantione Antiqua, Collegium Aureum , Ireneu Segarra, Harmonia Mundi, 1976
Salve Regina, Àngel Rodamilans , Escolania i Capella de Música de Montserrat, Ireneu Segarra, Montserrat, 1984

Web links

Enciclopèdia Catalana: Ireneu Segarra i Malla. In: Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana . Retrieved February 23, 2020 (Catalan).
Enciclopèdia Catalana: Ireneu Maria Segarra i Malla. In: Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música . Retrieved February 23, 2020 (Catalan).
Literature by and about Ireneu Segarra i Malla in the bibliographic database WorldCat

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Ireneu Segarra i Malla: In: Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Ireneu Segarra i Malla: In: Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música.
^ Presentation of I. Segarra's didactic concept based on: Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música. Article Irineu Segarra i Malla .

personal data
SURNAME	Segarra i Malla, Ireneu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Segarra i Malla, Ireneu Maria (full name); Segarra i Malla, Jesús (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Catalan Benedictine, church musician, choir director and composer
DATE OF BIRTH	September 30, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ivars d'Urgell
DATE OF DEATH	November 19, 2005
Place of death	Montserrat Monastery

[:0-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Ireneu Segarra i Malla: In: Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana.

[:1-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Ireneu Segarra i Malla: In: Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música.

[3] Presentation of I. Segarra's didactic concept based on: Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música. Article Irineu Segarra i Malla .